Former world champion Dmytro Pidruchnyy has asked the international biathlon community for help for his native Ukraine.
“Don’t tell me sport and politics have nothing to do with each other. They have to do with each other when soldiers and civilians die in my home country while you’re reading this,” wrote the 30-year-old on Instagram to his fans and asked about it Donations for the Ukrainian army: “I beg you to help us! I beg you, don’t stay away!”
At the same time, Pidruzhnyy also called on international friends and fans to take to the streets in their hometowns and to ask governments and NATO for help. In addition, due to targeted disinformation, it is important to verify any information about the “Russian invasion” with multiple sources, he wrote.
“My team and I stay in Ukraine”
In the foreseeable future, sport and the fight for good placings in the Skijäger World Cup will no longer play a role for Pidchuchnji. “No one will compete further,” he wrote, explaining, “My team and I remain in Ukraine to protect our homes and families from Russian forces that invaded Ukraine on February 24.”
Already on Friday the biathlon team of Ukraine had announced that after the military attack by Russia this winter they would no longer compete in the remaining three World Cups. Pidruchnji is the strongest man this season as 34th in the overall World Cup. Three years ago he had won the world title in the pursuit.